Eclipse
by Avorous
Summary: AU His friends and mentor dead, a Blight looming, he never expected to be the one to lead. Some really did have greatness thrust upon them, however unexpected... Eventual Alistair/F!Cousland HIATUS
1. Reunion Under Fire

A/N: A big shout out to ShadRen4ever on deviantart for being so patient when it came to my muse and helping me to edit these two chapters. Also, a big thank you to her for uploading these monsters while I didn't have a computer and putting up with my nit picking when it came to writing. Thanks a bunches my friend!

This story is AU or Alternate Universe, and it wouldn't leave my brain at the time.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or any other game affiliated with Dragon Age or Bioware. **

Reviews are awesome. :)

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><p>Highever. He hadn't planned on coming here but Lelianna had convinced him that they should go. After he had thought about it he realized that, if anything, it would be a good idea to go and resupply, even though it was out of the way that he had initially wanted to go. Plus, he hoped to get Teyrn Cousland on his side, since he had been close to the King. Ostagar had been a week ago and the deaths of his friends and comrades was still fresh in his mind. Loghain would pay, he would make sure of it even if he had to go through every soldier from here to Denerim, he would pay.<p>

It was dark when he and his small party reached Highever, the moon giving them just enough light to see the path ahead of them. He could see the outline of the home that the Cousland family lived, though _home _was a modest word since the place was a castle in every sense of the word. Something was wrong though. The closer that they moved towards the estate the more uneasy he felt.

It was only when he was close did he notice the soldiers in front of the main doors, attempting to barge their way into the estate.

"Dear Maker…" He heard Lelianna gasp behind him.

He motioned to the party to stay low and quiet, the three of them skirting just out of the way of the men attempting to get into the castle. They reached an alleyway next to the estate, an alleyway that would have led into it, had it not been a dead end.

"What is going on here? Why are the Couslands being attacked?" Lelianna gasped, her eyes darting to and fro.

"Tis obvious of what it is," Morrigan answered sourly, "Tis obviously a revolt against them."

Lelianna frowned, "I have heard nothing but good things about Teyrn Cousland!"

"How do you know they were not lies or fools notions? Men always-"

"Enough!" He hissed, it had been a long day and he was tired of hearing them bicker.

The two women grew silent and he could feel Morrigan's glare burning a hole into his back. She hated being interrupted; in fact she hated him in general now that he thought of it. He simply ignored her; she was just going to have to deal with it for now.

"Those men are not from Highever, their shields, from what I could tell, bore the heraldry of Arl Howe of Amaranthine." He said, looking at the wall connecting the alley to the castle.

"But why would the Arl attack the Teyrn's estate?" Lelianna questioned, watching as he placed his hand against the brick wall, sliding his fingers against it.

"I don't know, it doesn't make much sense, but we need to-" He was cut off suddenly by a section of the bricks being pushed out from the wall.

Alistair moved to face the tunnel that was being opened up in front of him and put his hand on the pommel of his sword, prepared to unsheathe his sword and strike down whoever came through should they prove hostile. In mid action he stopped, coming face to face with a woman.

Her face was bloody, and he could see that she was dripping in sweat. The armor that she wore had been put on hastily, a strap put on wrong here and a buckle undone there, and from the disheveled, messy black hair it was obvious that she no doubt had been caught by surprise.

He looked into her eyes, golden amber orbs that held anger and fear. She raised the blade in her hand immediately; the longsword's tip nearly meeting his neck.

"Stay back! Try anything and I swear I'll slit every one of your throats!"

Alistair's hand left the pommel of his sword, leaving it sheathed on his back. He recognized her, having met her on more than one occasion.

"I promise you Arrazi, we will not hurt you…"

"Like hell you won't!" She hissed, slowly going around him, obviously attempting to escape.

"What are you? Mercenaries? Has Howe stooped so low?" She was trying to distract him he knew, trying to make it so that she could run without having to waste too much precious time by fighting him.

"Arrazi! By the Maker don't you recognize me?"

She stared at him and he could see the faintest trace of her sword shaking in her hand. He sighed in relief when he saw recognition light up her face, her sword lowering.

"Alistair?"

He heard shouts coming from the exit of the ally and watched her as her body stiffened, almost instantly reaching for the dagger on her back. Several men, Howe's men, Alistair observed, were now at the end of the alley and he could hear others coming down the passage that she had just come through.

He pulled out his sword and shield and saw Morrigan smirk and Lelianna take out her bow. He saw the panicked look on the woman's face and knew what she must be thinking; that it was over, that she was going to die. He wasn't about to let that happen and he stepped just behind her, catching her eyes to see the fierce determination that matched the fiery color. She wasn't about to go down without a fight.

Howe's men attacked as soon as they saw her and she lunged, yelling in rage as her blade connected with the neck of an unexpected soldier, successfully slitting his throat. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Morrigan casting a spell, freezing one man in ice before he could move and Lelianna was taking care of the archers, her own arrows whizzing past and landing in their chests with a heavy thunk.

Alistair gripped his sword and shield and moved so that he was back to back with the noble woman, bashing his shield in the face of one of the men, hearing a sickening crunch and seeing a long spray of blood flying into his face. He swung his longsword, connecting with the shorter blade of another soldier that lunged at him and after parrying with him for a few blows he darted off to the side and slashed at his stomach before thrusting his longsword into his belly.

Alistair turned to find the woman they encountered successfully decapitate one of Howe's men, adding to the body count that was around them. He glanced around to see if there were any remaining soldiers left alive, which there seemed to be none of. He reached over to her and touched her arm, gaining a flinch and a glare.

"Come on. I'll explain everything when we get to camp, but right now we need to get you out of here."

He watched her glance around at the bodies that he and his party had felled and nodded, although rather reluctantly, and followed them out of the alley.

Her head was pounding and her heart was racing. She had been out of Highever for nearly three hours, though it seemed like the events had only happened a few minutes ago. The silence from the people that had shown up and helped her was a blessing, and it wasn't until they arrived at their camp did Alistair told her that he was a Grey Warden.

Alistair…thank the Maker for his good timing.

She had been numb, and simply nodded in response though she truly wished to be able to convey her gratitude. In the battle, if that was what you would call the massacre of her family and household, she had known what to do. It was a kill or be killed situation and the rogue in her had fought tooth and nail to survive.

She had been numb through the whole thing, and everything seemed almost completely surreal, like a dream. Or a nightmare. Arrazi glanced up towards the fire that one of the Grey Warden's companions had started, watching the flames dance.

The numbness was fading and was being replaced by such a searing and sharp pain that it almost made her want to jump into that merciful fire before her. But that would defeat whatever purpose she had in living then wouldn't it? Then what would her mother think?

Her mother…

She lowered her head to stare intently at the ground, not wanting her new companions to see the tears that threatened to spill past her eyes. She and her mother had held off Howe's men from getting to her father for as long as they could and her mother, taking matters into her own hands, had practically shoved her through the servants passage, barricading it on her end to buy her daughter time to get away.

She could still hear her mother's screams as she was slain, could hear the sound of it going through the air, heard the body hit the ground, knowing that she was dead. It was when she heard the soldiers moving the things in front of the passage that had made something inside her snap, becoming unfrozen from the spot and making her run to the other end of the passage, scrambling to get out.

She glanced up again to see that Alistair had gotten up and was heading towards her. She watched him as he sat down next to her, reaching over to poke the fire with a stick.

"Thank you," she said, suppressing a flinch when she heard how low and hoarse her voice sounded, "For helping me back there I mean…"

He looked over at her and gave her a small smile, the firelight dancing in his eyes. "You don't need to thank me. I just wish that we could have gotten there sooner. If we had then maybe…" He trailed off, looking away so that he wouldn't have to meet her gaze.

Arrazi simply nodded and looked away as well, staring into the fire. They sat there in silence for a moment that felt like an eternity, and she nearly flinched when she heard his voice again.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here." He said quietly, getting up from the place on the ground next to her.

"We'll be leaving in the morning for Redcliff. You're welcome to join us if you want."

The tone of his voice surprised her, and yet it didn't. He was being nice because of what happened and because he knew her, she knew that, but the way he said it…

She could tell that he was genuine in his sympathies and his offer, and the way he said it spoke of someone who knew what she was going through.

"I…thank you. I might take you up on that offer." She said, managing a small smile.

He gave her a warm smile in return and left her side, leaving her to her thoughts. She stared at the fire again. She could just leave in the morning, she didn't _have_ to go anywhere with the Warden and his little group, he had made that detail abundantly clear. He would be fighting the Blight, fighting the darkspawn; he wouldn't have time to baby sit a noble woman no matter how well he knew her.

She squinted her eyes and sighed. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go though and no doubt that Howe had a backup plan in case anyone had managed to escape. She groaned and lay down on the ground, facing the sky. Perhaps she would stay. At least then she could keep somewhat of a low profile.

Staring up at the stars she closed her eyes, deciding that she would make her final decision in the morning.

When the morning came, Alistair woke to find the woman they saved the night before was gone. He wasn't surprised really that she had left, though he wished she stayed since he knew they were going to need all the help they could get. He also knew from personal experience that she would have been a very valuable ally. He sighed and got up, preparing to help Lelianna, Morrigan, and Sten pack up the camp.

Halfway through packing up the camp he heard a rustling in the brush. He stopped what he was doing and reached up to the sword on his back. He didn't sense any darkspawn in the area, and he was almost certain that whatever it was wasn't any human.

He glanced at the three companions behind him. Sten looked tense, well, more tense than normal anyway and Lelianna looked like she was ready to spring at the next thing that moved. Morrigan though looked unnervingly amused, and not at all as nervous as anyone else.

As he turned towards where the sound was coming from he was attacked by a giant tan…something.

"Odin!" He heard a voice yell out from the brush.

The giant dog was above him, having successfully tackled him to the ground and was promptly licking his face, as though intent on making sure that no part of his face was dry.

"Odin you big oaf! Get off me!" He grunted.

_Lovely,_ he thought, trying to push the dog off of him, _Mabari slobber is just what I needed to start the day out right…_

"Odin!" There was that voice again, but much more stern than before, more commanding. The same commanding voice he had heard multiple times, causing him to grin to himself. The Mabari leapt off of him and bounded towards his mistress, barking happily.

Alistair sat up and wiped some of the dog drool off his face, looking up to see the woman the dog so readily obeyed. She smiled over at him, and he was suddenly struck by how different she looked, not tired and covered in blood like she had been the night before.

"Sorry about that," She said, patting the Mabari hound's huge head, "He has a tendency to get excited when he sees people he remembers."

Now that he was seeing her in full light he could see her sharp features and unwavering amber eyes. The blood and grime washed from her face, he could see the faint gray tattoo of a bird in flight covering her face like a mask. He smirked to himself and fondly remembered the day she got it, proudly showing the men at the castle the tattoo. Rebellious woman.

"You came back?" He asked or rather, blurted, out and mentally smacked himself. _Smooth move there Alistair, very smooth. _

She kept the smile on her face, but he could see her warm eyes grow just a little bit colder, harder.

"Yes. I…I don't exactly have anywhere else to go, and it would probably be best that I kept a low profile but…I want to help in any way that I can."

Alistair nodded and locked eyes with her, a silent understanding of her need to vent her grief productively passing between the two of them. He gave her a cheeky grin, extending his hands towards her.

"Welcome aboard then! Just make sure your dog doesn't think I'm a chew toy and we should be able to get along."

Odin barked and crouched to the ground, wagging his stump of a tail as his mistress locked eyes with him giving Alistair a silent thank you.


	2. Unmentioned

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or anything else that Bioware creates.**

I love Dog in this and Reviews are love. :)

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><p>The trail to Redcliff from Highever was long, and along the way the small band of mismatched travelers encountered very little resistance, other than the occasional bandit. Not long after setting up camp, Alistair felt the hound nudge his hand, whimpering until he responded by patting the giant dog's head. He received a sharp, happy bark and a lick to his hand as a reward before Odin trotted to the other side of the camp back to his mistress.<p>

He glanced at her from afar as she gently laid her hand against the giant Mabari hound, half leaning against her dog for support. He looked away and poked at the fire. It had been close to two weeks since the siege and massacre at Castle Cousland. She had hardly spoken since then, opting to sit away from the group with only her dog as company.

Once again he heard the whimper of Odin, her war hound, and felt a tugging and insistent pulling at his tunic sleeve. He looked at his sleeve where Odin had grasped a hold of his shirt, whimpering at him.

"What is it huh?" He asked the large tan beast.

Arrazi Cousland's hound had taken an interest in him, often going back and forth between the two of them while they were at camp.

He whimpered again and cast a longing look at his mistress, pulling at Alistair's sleeve again before trotting about two feet away from him towards her. He looked at Alistair and whimpered again.

"Oh no, no way. Why are you pushing the issue? If she wanted to talk to me she would now wouldn't she?"

Odin's ears went limp and he whimpered again, gazing up at him.

Alistair narrowed his eyes. "No. That's not going to work. I'm immune to your manipulative ways."

The dog just whimpered again and locked gazes with Alistair. The two stared at one another for a good minute before the Grey Warden sighed. "I am a weak weak man. Fine you win. But this isn't going to work again you know…"

Odin gave a short bark and bounded to his owner. Alistair got up from his seat, though reluctantly, and followed, muttering under his breath. He neared the dark haired woman and saw that her dog had draped his head across her lap, lying next to her as his eyes watched Alistair. The Warden sat down next to her, the hound between them.

"Can I just say that your dog is a manipulative and evil person?"

Arrazi smiled, stroking the hound's head as he gave Alistair a glare. "He can be. Let me guess. He used his magical whimper to get you to do his bidding?"

"Oh ho! If only it were so! It was his eyes I tell you, they burrow deep within your soul and clamp down on you like a bear trap!"

She laughed but tried to keep it from coming out, which resulted in her only making a snorting sound. The two of them looked at each other in silence for only a few seconds before they both burst out laughing. When they finally were able to compose themselves, Arrazi sighed, getting a distant look in her eyes.

"What is it?" Alistair asked, becoming concerned.

"It's just…that's the first time I've really laughed since…well since…" She trailed off, growing silent.

"Since the massacre." It wasn't a question. He knew that was exactly what she meant.

Arrazi sighed, "Yes."

"You can talk to me about it. I know it's hard to imagine, but I can always just listen."

She gave him a grateful look and sighed. "I just…I'm so confused. I mean I'm angry, I'm sad, I'm…I don't know. I'm a whirlpool of emotion…" He watched her as she crossed her arms around her chest, staring out into the woods.

"I should have stayed. I should have defended them…I could have done something…"

Alistair nodded, feeling a pang of his own grief as her words rang true in his head. "I can understand that…but then you wouldn't be here." He said quietly.

The dark haired woman sighed and Alistair wondered what she was thinking with that far off look in her eyes. The hound that he was half leaning against suddenly scrambled out from between them, causing Alistair to almost fall against her, breaking his fall by putting a hand to the ground behind her, his arm practically wrapping around her as he got unnervingly close to the woman.

She must have also been leaning against the dog because it ended up with the two of them pressed close together, much too close for comfort anyway. Alistair could feel the heat rising to his face and the two of them scrambled away from each other, both muttering apologies.

After a moment of intense awkwardness, he cleared his throat and got up from his seat next to her. "I better go, uh go, and tend the fire…"

Arrazi nodded and patted her leg for her hound, which bounded to her side. Alistair shot a hard glare at the hound, certain that the dog had been scheming to embarrass him as soon as he walked over there. He turned to leave and was stopped by her voice.

"Alistair?"

He turned back to face her and was greeted with a small smile. "I-thank you. It was good to talk about it."

He grinned back at her. "Anytime."

As he walked away, Arrazi looked down at Odin, who was now making himself comfortable across her lap. "You are a wicked person you know."

Odin almost seemed to grin when he looked up at her.

The next day they were back on the road, only partially following the Imperial Highway while sticking to the more rough terrain of the landscape. Technically speaking, the Grey Warden Alistair was now a wanted fugitive. Wanted along with any other Grey Warden for the death of King Cailan, so the group tended to avoid any place they might encounter any of Loghain's men.

Arrazi couldn't, no she wouldn't believe it. Alistair had shown her nothing but kindness since she had first met him, and the reputation that the Grey Wardens' had around all of Thedas just made it so that the claim didn't make any sense. She was convinced that if even half the Grey Wardens were like Alistair that there was absolutely no way they killed the King.

Arrazi hung back from the rest of the group, Odin right beside her as always. While Alistair and she got along with each other well enough, she couldn't bring herself to trust the others, especially the dark haired apostate. There was just something about the mage that made her want to stay as far away from her as possible, though being in such a small group it was hard to avoid anyone.

She was relieved that the closer they got to Redcliff the more of the landscape she recognized. She had only gone to Redcliff Castle a few times when she was younger with her father, but it still left enough of an impression on her to where she would remember it.

She glanced ahead of her at Alistair. It had been nearly seven months, maybe a little longer even, since she had last seen him and she remembered how excited he was when he came to her with the news that he was going to become a Grey Warden.

"_Arrazi! You wouldn't believe what just happened!" _

_She turned from polishing the dark grey iron dagger and grinned at him. "You tore your breeches in a fight with Ser Gilmore again?" _

_He frowned at her, "No! Well…yes I did but-!" _

"_And the entire barracks was watching?" _

"_Besides the point! And I don't know what it is with that man, he thinks it's funny to cut my breeches whenever I loose…" _

_Arrazi laughed and he shot her that impish grin of his that she had become so accustomed to seeing. _

"_Anyway, it wasn't the breeches news that I was going to tell you," He said, eyes sparkling and his grin widening, purposely keeping the information to himself so that she would become curious. _

_It worked; in fact it had always worked. Curiosity killed the cat but she had more than nine lives it seemed. "Well? Spit it out I don't want to be waiting all day to hear about it!" _

_If it was even possible, his grin got even wider. "Your father, he recommended me for the Grey Wardens!" _

_Arrazi set her dagger down and her amber eyes brightened. "The Grey Wardens? Alistair that's wonderful news!" _

_He grinned and reached over, pulling her into a tight hug, which she readily received. "You can imagine my surprise when he informed me!" He released his grip on her and smiled down at her. _

_She had been happy for him; it was something that she was proud of him for, becoming a Grey Warden. But that meant that he, her good friend, would most likely be leaving Highever soon. That saddened her but she still grinned back up at him. _

She snapped out of her thoughts so that she could listen to Alistair, who looked like he had begun directing some of the members of the party.

"Lelianna, Morrigan, and Sten, I need you to stay here and guard the camp while Arrazi and I go into the castle to get Eamon's help. "

He turned to her, his expression softened. "He will also need to know what happened in Highever…"

Arrazi nodded, understanding. The nobility was going to have to know about what Howe did, and right now the best place to start was Arl Eamon.

"Well, then we should probably get going then shouldn't we?" Arrazi said, putting a smile on her face. "No use in keeping the Arl waiting."

He grinned at her and they both turned to leave, following the trail the rest of the way to Redcliff. They were silent for a few moments as they started down the trail until Alistair broke the unnerving silence first.

"So…Have you ever been to Redcliff before?" It was a simple question, one of curiosity that Arrazi didn't hesitate to answer.

"A few times with my father. The first time I was here I was eight."

"Really? You'd think that I would have seen you around a that point."

"I'm good at being incognito." She smirked, "But you would know that already."

"You're talking about the time when you swapped my sword with a stick aren't you?"

She snickered, remembering the day that, as a practical joke, she snuck into his room, took his sword, and replaced it with a stick. "I might be."

He rolled his eyes at her, "You know, your father was totally in on it. He found me searching the hallways up and down for it, shook his head, and walked away laughing."

He shot her a grin. "I'll get you back for that one of these days you know."

Arrazi rolled her eyes and grinned. "Sure you will. You wouldn't be able to get within a few yards of me before I would know what you were doing."

"Your lack of faith in my prank abilities is like a briar in my heart!" H exclaimed dramatically, throwing his hands into the air.

She raised a dark eyebrow. "Please, you couldn't get me back if you tried!"

Alistair's eyebrow raised and his grin seemed to get wider.

"Oh? A bet then? All right if I can pull a prank on you then _you_ have to socialize with everyone for a whole week. No going off and isolating yourself!"

Arrazi grinned at him. _My my, someone's confident in themselves. _"And if you loose?"

He stopped mid step and put a hand to his chin, thinking. "If I loose…I'll dance the Remigold in front of the entire camp…in a dress."

Arrazi nearly laughed at just the thought of such a spectacle. "I think that I would like to see that regardless!"

Alistair threw back his head and laughed. "Only if you win the bet my dear! So, do we have a deal?" he asked, sticking out his hand. Arrazi grinned and grasped his hand with hers.

"It's a bet."

"I'll hold you to that bet by the way," Alistair said, still grinning ear to ear.

"Of that, I have no doubt at all."

The both of them took that particular moment to realize that they had completely stopped walking and Arrazi laughed, picking up the pace again.

"You're really distracting to talk to you know." He said to her with that impish grin.

"I'd say thank you, but I try to thrive on stealth so I'm not sure that being a distraction would really help me out at all."

"Very true, but if I ever need something stolen then I'll be sure to come to you for it. Unless of course you don't steal anymore…"

Arrazi smirked, remembering when her mother had decided to take her to the spring salon last year. So many noblewomen and a few very bored noblemen that didn't have their guard up. She had snuck the stuff back, but to her it was like a sick and twisted game.

"Well…there was that last spring salon…"

Alistair's eyes widened at the mischievous look on her face. "Still? Arrazi I would have sworn that your mother would have had your head by then!"

She grinned even wider. "I gave it back! Do you know how utterly _boring _those social events are? It was very entertaining to watch them run around like headless chickens looking for the stuff they 'lost' and then when it mysteriously reappeared where they left it…well it made the occasions so very interesting."

Alistair burst out laughing at the imagery, Arrazi joining him as they neared the village. He stopped suddenly and her eyes narrowed as she caught the far off gaze in his hazel eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously and looked away for a moment causing Arrazi to raise a dark eyebrow, partially in confusion and partially in curiosity.

She couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head sometimes, even if she had known him for so long. He turned back to her and she automatically straightened when she caught the look in his eyes. It seemed that it was time to get serious.

"Look, uh, I have to tell you something. I should have told you earlier, way earlier actually, but either way you need to know before we get to the castle…"

She narrowed her eyes and nodded, wonder what on Thedas was so important that he had to grow so serious all of a sudden. "Should have told me…what?"

Alistair seemed to mumble something under his breath and proceeded to rub the back of his neck. "All right, let's start from the beginning. You already know about my mother, and how Arl Eamon and your father basically raised me and how I'm a bastard child…"

His feet shuffled, weight almost constantly moving from one foot to the other. He was nervous, and getting more and more uncomfortable as he went on.

"Well the reason the Arl raised me was because…because my father was King Maric."

Arrazi's eyes widened. She was shocked, surprised, and hurt. She didn't expect to feel hurt but she did. Why hadn't he told her that before? Her mind was numb and her mouth outran her brain when she spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She was quiet when she said it and her warm amber eyes had gone cold.

He almost visibly flinched at her tone. She didn't care at this point though, she was hurt, too hurt that he had kept something like this for so long to be nice about it.

"It never came up?"

"Bullshit. That is one lousy sodding answer." She stated, almost sourly, one of her hands clenched in frustration.

Alistair sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're right, it is a lousy answer. I should have told you. I should have told you a long time ago but I didn't. I wasn't used to having anyone know about it."

"It's come up. You know you could have told me anything Alistair." She said, eyes narrowing. She was hurt that he hadn't told her about it before.

"I know but how do you just tell someone something like _that_. 'Oh by the way I'm the bastard son of King Maric and the prince Cailan is my half-brother?' Yes I feel like saying it in that way would have gone over well…"

"You still should have told me." She said, her voice quiet. She was still hurt, and even though she knew that she would most likely get over it sooner rather than later, it didn't ease the knife that was twisting around in her heart.

He sighed and nodded. "You're right, I should have. I suppose that…I just wanted you to like me for me, and not my blood…"

Arrazi managed a small smile despite her hurt and anger. "Now _that _I can understand. Is there anything else that you're keeping from me or is that it?"

"Besides my unholy love of cheese and a minor obsession with my hair? Oh wait, you already knew about those… Nope that's it. Just the prince thing." He cleared his throat, straightening his posture. "Now, we should get going. No need in keeping the Arl waiting right?"

She rolled her eyes and attempted to sound more like her old self again. "And you were just starting to get on a roll too."

He managed to giver her a small smile of his own and they proceeded to walk side by side towards the small village ahead of them.


End file.
